Tracks in the Snow
by meiikko
Summary: A Rise of the Guardians x Disney's Frozen crossover Elsa, the snow queen, in secluded in her ice castle. One night, she finds a mysterious figure outside, covered in snow. He reveals himself as a injured Jack Frost. The two form a tight bond that no one can break... or so they thought.
1. Prologue - Chapter 1

Prologue –

It was a cold January evening. Elsa, only age six, sat beside her younger sister on a snow covered log. The two had spent the chilly snow day together, building silly snowmen and brushing the powdered pearls off their shoulders. The birds of Arendelle began to grow silent as the sun slowly set.

"Girls!" Elsa's mother called. "It's time to come in now. I've made some hot cocoa for you."

Anna giddily rose from the log and tottered towards their mother. Elsa also rose, but slowly and sadly. She felt safe in the snow. She wasn't ready to feel the harsh warmth of the castle. "Mommy, do I have to?"

"Yes, Elsa. You've been out here all day and I don't want you to catch a cold. Hurry along now." Her mother placed her hand on her shoulder and shuffled her into the castle.

Anna happily climbed the stairs with her mother by her side. Elsa dawdled behind, gazing at the snowflakes out the window. "I wish it could be winter forever."

"I don't," their mother chuckled. She scooted Elsa along and escorted them into their bedrooms. She sighed at Elsa's pout. She peeled off her icy clothes slowly, trying to get the least amount of snow on the floor as possible. She helped Elsa tug a nightgown onto herself. Elsa climbed into bed, but refused to pull the covers over herself.

Her mother sat on the side of her bed. Elsa turned away to stare at the frost coated window. "You'll end up like Jack Frost at this rate."

"Jack Frost?" Elsa squeaked. "Who's Jack Frost?"

"Well when I was a little girl, my mother used to tell me that if I stayed in the cold too long that I would become frozen in time like Jack Frost. He's a playful, troublesome boy that is permanently stuck in an endless winter. If you're not careful, that could happen to you too!" Elsa's mother was frankly telling her daughter tall tales to keep her distracted from the soon to be spring Arendelle.

Elsa gasped and stared out the window. "Jack Frost," she softly muttered to herself. Her mother kissed her cheek and began to exit her room.

"Goodnight, my dear."

Elsa was too amazed to respond. With every snowflake that fell, her desire to meet Jack Frost grew.

Chapter 1 -

Elsa pushed back the stray piece of platinum hair from the center of her forehead. She gazed out her balcony and into endless foggy snow. The sun was begging to set and unleash the bitter temperatures of winter nights. She didn't mind the coldness though. It comforted her. It made her feel as if she truly belonged somewhere.

She smiled as the soft snow caressed her skin. It made her feel sleepy and safe. She turned away from the frost bitten window and strode through the lifeless hallways. The only sound was the soft taps of her shoes and the fierce roaring of winds echoing throughout the empty castle. She took pride in her creation of her ice castle. It was a requiem to her former self. It provided safety, security, and seclusion.

She climbed the stairs slowly. She had no hurry to be anywhere or get anything done. She found herself slipping into her nightgown and pulling the thin, white sheets over her pale body. She laid pondering about her sister; she wondering if she was handling the kingdom well.

A low sound coming from outside interrupted her thoughts. She quickly shrugged it off, assuming it was the howl of the harsh winds. She turned her body and adjusted the pillow to cradle her tired face. After a few moments of silence, she heard the noise again. She knew it wasn't the storm. She heard the sounds of the storm every day for years. This was animal-like—or human-like, rather.

She quickly rose from her bed and hurried down the halls. She dashed down the stairs, gripping the end of her nightgown tightly. The doors swung open with a violent push.

She slowly examined the grounds surrounding the castle, making small footprints in the snow. She followed the noise until she reached the wall of which her bedroom window peered out of. There, covered in a thick coating of snow, was an uneven lump.

Elsa moved closer. She hesitated as she peeked over the large abominable pile. She contemplated her options. If it was an evil creature of some sort, it would be too numb to move or attack her. If the creature meant no harm, it would slowly die alone out in the cold. Something tugged at her heart. She thought of her sister. What if it was her? What if she came to find her and perished just as she reached the castle?

She quickly dropped to the snow and started digging the being out from underneath. Tears formed in her eyes and spilled over her cheeks and she caught a glimpse of blue fabric. Her mind was clouded with thoughts of her sister.

Elsa slowly came to a stop. Before her was not her sister, but a boy with hair as white as the snow around him. His skin was also pale with freckles sprinkled over his peach colored cheeks. A soft moan leaked from his pink, parted lips. He had to be at least 18 or so. His breath was jagged and started to give.

Dumfounded, Elsa quickly finished dusting the snow off the beautiful boy beneath her. She tried to lift him up, setting his weight on her side. She dragged him steadily towards the front of the castle, adjusting him a few times along the way. She feared that it would be too late once she got inside.

She glared at the stares and grumbled. It would be a challenge to safely get him up there without causing more harm to him. But he had to be in a bed, not on the icy castle floors. She carefully took one step at a time, shifting him softly so no harm was done. She already did enough already, considering it was her blizzard after all.

When she finally reached the top of the stairs, she was out of breath and feeling weaker. "Only a few more steps," she muttered, assuring herself.

The boy's body collapsed onto her bed. She quickly pulled all of the rarely used blankets over his chilled body. She laid her hand against his cheek. Her body temperature learned to cope with the harsh standards of her powers; it was higher than a normal person's. However, the ice and snow produced from her powers was not affected by her body temperature due to the fact that it was made by her. In this case, her heat was useful in making the peach in his cheeks flush a shade darker.

She pulled back when he stirred suddenly. His eyes slowly opened, revealing two pale blue pools. Elsa couldn't help but stare at them.

"Who…are you?" his raspy voice muttered, his breath altering.

"I'm Elsa," she said sternly. "I found you outside. You were covered in snow. I thought you were hurt, so I brought you inside." She felt almost sorry for invading him this way. She hated scaring people.

He squeezed his eyes shut and slowly shook his head. "Where am I?"

"The mountains of Arendelle. I'm not exactly sure how you made it up here, or how you found it, but you're lucky to be alive. This blizzard gets worse and worse every day."

He chuckled. "I'm not scared of any blizzard. I doubt that's the reason I was knocked out in the snow. The cold doesn't get to me like it gets to most hu—people." He tried to sit up in the bed, but let out a groan and slowly sank back down. He rubbed his back and sighed. "I must've taken a nasty spill or something. I remember trying to get to the top of this mountain, but not much else."

"Is there anything you need?" Elsa asked.

"No, I'm alright. I should be back on my feet shortly as long as I have my staff." He glanced around the room. Panic struck his face. "You…you did find my staff, didn't you?"

Elsa stared at him with wide eyes. "Staff?" She was curious about the thing. How could his injuries be better by just having an object? The boy seemed very suspicious to her.

"Oh no," he muttered, sitting up again. "No, no, no. Oh no." He slowly swung his legs over the side of bed and attempted to climb out.

Elsa quickly rose. "What are you doing? You're obviously injured."

"Well I'm not going to get better without my staff." He groaned as he tried to gain balance. He stumbled a bit. When Elsa extended her arms to help him, he shook his head in decline.

His decision backfired when he suddenly tipped to the side and began to fall. Elsa quickly caught him and draped his arm over her shoulders. "I know you don't want me to help but you're going to need it. I'll find your staff."

"You don't even know what it looks like!" there was a slight irritating tone in his voice. "I need my staff. I take it everywhere. I sleep with it. I-I breathe with it!"

"You're too weak to find it yourself," Elsa muttered, also with a hint of annoyance. "I'll help you find it but then you have to rest."

"Fine," the independent boy hissed.

Elsa shuffled him out of the door as he leaned on her and hopped slowly. They eventually made it to the step case. Elsa would step down one stair, and then the boy would use her to balance himself as he hopped down the same stair.

"By the way," the boy said, trying to gain his breath from all the hopping, "I'm Jack."

"It's nice to meet you, Jack," she mumbled sarcastically.

When they reached the bottom of the staircase, they took a small break. "Why were you up here anyways?" Elsa asked. "It's not a safe journey to go on, especially alone with nothing to protect you. You're not even wearing shoes!"

"I don't need them. The cold doesn't affect me in the slightest. I mean I am—" Jack paused. He looked at Elsa. "I just wanted to see what was up with this castle. I should be asking _you_ why _you're_ up here."

Elsa bit her lip and sighed. "I like seclusion. It soothes me."

"Fair enough. Let's keep moving."

The two stumbled out the palace doors and into the snow. The skies were dark and only illuminated by the full moon. It made the falling snowflakes look like glittering dancers being swept up and brought down by the wind. It was difficult to trudge through the thick snow, but Elsa managed to do it with very little assistance from Jack. They finally discovered the area in which she found him.

"It's got to be here. It just has to!" Jack dug around in the snow. Elsa attempted to help, but wasn't quite sure what they were looking for. Her hands suddenly grazed against a piece of ribboning wood. She slowly picked it up, examining it. It was short and seemed to be curved into some sort of demented hook-like shape. It seemed awfully small for a staff. She then saw that the bottom was mangled as if it had been broken.

"Jack," she said softly, awaiting his disappoint. "I think I found some of it."

Jack swore under his breath when he took the broken staff out of her hands. "No, not again." He clutched it and continued looking for the other half. He frantically pushed the snow around. After a few moments of failure, he slumped down. "Even if I were to find it, I'm too weak to fix it at this point."

Elsa sunk down with him. She reached out her hand and placed it on his shoulder. He flinched at her touch, but then slowly turned to look at her. "I'm sure we'll find it. When we do, I'll help you fix it. Until then, you can stay here and rest. I wouldn't mind having some company." She smiled a bit, trying to lift his spirits.

He stared cautiously for a few seconds, but then also cracked a small smile. "Thank you," he muttered, gazing at her. "You know there's something about you that's different. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I think it might have something to do with the fact that you live in an ice castle in the middle of nowhere."

Elsa giggled and shrugged. "Well, what can I say? C'mon, let's get you back inside."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 –

When Elsa woke up, Jack was still sleeping. She figured she would prepare him breakfast so he could regain some strength. She remembered she had some food to prepare in an ice box in her kitchen in case Anna was ever to visit. As far as she remembered, there was fruit and a few foods that could spoil like eggs, milk, and cheese. She didn't eat as much as her warm sibling did, but she did eat occasionally for nourishment.

She slowly opened the ice box and removed a jar of yogurt. She scooped the yogurt into a freezing bowl. After that she cut some fruit and placed it in the yogurt. To top off the breakfast, she poured a glass of milk into a frozen mug. She smiled to herself in success; she wasn't the best host, but she felt as if she succeeded.

She heard the sleepy boy stir down the stairs. He lazily slumped into a dining room chair, not noticing Elsa peak from the kitchen. "Good morning," she said suddenly.

Jack flinched. "Oh! I didn't see you. Good morning."

"I hope you like yogurt. That's about all I have that I wouldn't have to cook. I don't do well with heat." She came out of the kitchen with the yogurt bowl and mug full of milk. She placed it in front of him and handed him a cold spoon.

He sleepily took it and grinned. "Cold is fine, I'm not good with heat either." He laughed.

Elsa looked at him suspiciously. There was something about him that stunned her. Maybe it was the frost scattered on the seams of his sweater, or the icy color of his pale hair. She liked that he was warmer than her, but not as warm as someone like her sister. She felt as if she knew him from a storybook or an old tale. It bothered her, but she felt impolite to ask. "So, Jack, where are you from?"

"Eh, a small, old town that you probably wouldn't recognize. I left at a young age and pretty much raised myself." He explained this with empty eyes, staring down at the bowl of yogurt.

"Do you have any siblings?"

He smiled a bit. "A little sister, but I haven't seen her in a while."

"I have a sister, too," Elsa said happily. "I don't see her a lot but I hope she visits me soon. She doesn't like the cold as much as I do."

"Does anyone else visit you much?"

"No. I'm always alone, except for my snow people. But they're a little ditzy."

Jack sighed. "It's nice having company. For so long I was just ignored. No one really believed in me. I was just a silly fairy tale to tell at Christmas time, nipping at people's noses and whatnot."

Elsa froze. Her smile dropped and her heart started beating rapidly. "You're—you.."

"Jack Frost? Yeah. I knew you'd catch on eventually."

Tears welled in Elsa's eyes. They were happy tears, but she felt as if her rib cage had just clasped around her lungs. It caused an aching feeling to shoot through her bones. She suddenly fell to her knees. Tears trickled down her cheeks. They turned to little, solid hail drops once they touched the frozen floor.

"Elsa, what's wrong?" Jack asked, standing abruptly.

She couldn't speak. All her life, she felt alone. It was good because she couldn't hurt anyone, but she always longed for that one person that she just couldn't hurt no matter what she did. Growing up, she was led to believe that that person was Jack. Now here he was, shoeless and covered in frost, and positively real. It was more of a shocking pain that ran through her body. It was as if someone she had once loved rose from the dead.

Jack crouched next to the shivering girl and peeked behind her platinum braid. "Did I say something?"

"No," Elsa croaked quietly. "I thought I'd never find you." She felt pathetic as these words leaked from her lonesome lips. "I've been secluded in this castle for years, expecting everyone I came across to either get hurt or scared. I always dreamt of you. I always heard stories of you when I was little. As I grew older, it came to my attention that most of the stories that were told to me false, but I always held to a thread of hope that you were always there, watching over me…like a guardian."

Jack's lips turned into a slight grin. "I know," he whispered. "I was your guardian for a long time. I protected you when you were a little girl. But sometimes, when kids grow up, they begin to doubt the stories that their parents told them. As you began to give up on finding me, I began to disappear. In all honesty, I always continued to look after you. But I couldn't reveal myself until you believed in me once more."

Elsa stared up at him with blurry eyes. He slowly wiped the tears from her cheeks. She pushed herself up and wrapped her arms around his neck. She buried her face in his frosty sweatshirt. The smell caused a nostalgic memory of lying in the snow as a child. "I'm so sorry," she wept quietly.

Jack held her close laid his cheek against her soft hair. "I'm not mad at you. Don't be sorry. I should be sorry that I didn't get here sooner. When you ran away to the castle, I had trouble finding you. So getting here was a bit of a hassle. If I was a stronger guardian, I wouldn't have had so much trouble. But I guess I'm still an amateur learning the ropes. Not to mention breaking my staff and that touch of amnesia. That was definitely not part of the plan."

Elsa giggled and leaned back, looking at her guardian. "I don't want you to be sorry either. We can make up for lost time while you're healing."

Jack nodded and smiled. "Of course we can."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 –

Elsa stared at the cold blue ceiling of the castle as she lay on the floor. She felt her emotions form a heavy weight on her stomach. The whole event was overwhelming. She felt angry with herself for running from Arendelle and unintentionally hiding from Jack. If she would've known that he was looking for her and still protecting her, things would've been so much different. Maybe Arendelle wouldn't be frozen.

She felt a strange wave of heat pulse through her fingertips. She slowly lifted her hand and pointed it limply at the ceiling. Sharp shards of ice shot through the air and pierced where her eyes were gazing. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she shifted to look at Jack.

He propped himself up on her bed with his elbows. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Elsa breathed. "I think so."

Jack hopped off of the bed and smiled. "You want to do something fun?"

"What did you have in mind?"

He laughed and pranced to the window. "We have all this snow and nothing to do." He unlatched the clasp on the window and grinned as he leapt into the air. The wind picked him up and slowly placed him in the snow.

Elsa sprinted to the open window. She looked down at the surprisingly safe boy.

"Come on!" he shouted with open arms. "I'll catch you!"

She shook her head. "Are you crazy?"

Chapter 3 –

Elsa stared at the cold blue ceiling of the castle as she lay on the floor. She felt her emotions form a heavy weight on her stomach. The whole event was overwhelming. She felt angry with herself for running from Arendelle and unintentionally hiding from Jack. If she would've known that he was looking for her and still protecting her, things would've been so much different. Maybe Arendelle wouldn't be frozen.

She felt a strange wave of heat pulse through her fingertips. She slowly lifted her hand and pointed it limply at the ceiling. Sharp shards of ice shot through the air and pierced where her eyes were gazing. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she shifted to look at Jack.

He propped himself up on her bed with his elbows. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Elsa breathed. "I think so."

Jack hopped off of the bed and smiled. "You

"Elsa, trust me. I'm not going to let anything hurt you. It's just snow anyways, what are you afraid of?"

That's exactly what I'm afraid of, she thought with pressed lips. She held her breath and slowly climbed out the window. She jumped with eyes wide open. She stared as she saw Arendelle slowly sink into the horizon.

"Ouf!" she exclaimed as she collapsed into Jack's arms. She unclenched her teeth and fists and looked up at him.

He gazed down at her with a smirk. "I told you I'd catch you."

Elsa felt like a child, tucked into him. She smiled. He suddenly dropped her into the fluffy snow. She squeaked as she landed.

"However, it's war now." He winked and dove into the snow. Elsa watched him try not to stumble as he leapt. He looked like a young rabbit experiencing winter for the first time.

She cocked her head curiously. She imagined him as much more graceful and delicate, not clumsy. "Why are you jumping like that?"

"It's hard to be a pretty ballerina when I don't have my staff. That's pretty much the source of my power." He chuckled as his cheeks turned a bit of a darker shade.

"I guess I have the advantage then," she said smiling. She slowly pressed her hands together and a snowball started to form between her palms. When it was decent size, she pelted it at Jack. It hit him square in the chest.

He tipped backwards but quickly caught himself. "So you're a dirty fighter?" He started to scoop up the snow and create some snowballs.

Elsa squealed and ran for the snowy hills. Jack followed, chuckling and stumbling over his feet. Elsa started to run faster until she couldn't hear his clumsy footsteps anymore. She turned around. "Jack?" No one responded.

"Looking for someone?" a soft, mesmerizing voice whispered in her ear. She turned around to see a gray man in a black cloak. She couldn't make out his face due to a dark hood casting a shadow over it. She only saw the faint gleam of the light reflecting off his sharp teeth. He made her uncomfortable; he sent shivers down her spine. She hadn't experienced that feeling in a long time.

"Who are you?" she asked timidly.

The man chuckled. "Just a silly character who no one believes in anymore." He pulled off his hood to reveal a harsh face with dark eyes. He had a mocking grin. "I came to warn you to stay away from a certain someone."

"What do you mean? I'm all alone out here. People are supposed to stay away from me." Elsa started to back away slowly. A dark ray radiated off of this stranger. It sent so many uneasy emotions through her mind.

"You can't be that dense. I'm referring to that meddling boy," he hissed. His voice was almost like a lullaby. Elsa felt her eyelids get heavier with every syllable that seeped from his mouth. "He's a pest. Nothing but a conceited brat."

"Don't you dare say that about him," Elsa shouted. She felt the same heated sensation in her palms as she did earlier. "Stay away from here."

"Oh, hush child. You don't know what you're getting yourself into. If you cooperated, this would be so much easier."

"Stay away!" Elsa screamed again. A sharp shard of ice shot from her fingers and towards the man. He disappeared into a black, glittering dust. The shards fell into the snow.

Panic struck Elsa as she hurriedly looked around. She yelped as the man appeared once more and wrapped his bony claws around her wrists. He pressed himself against her back and leaned into her neck. "Wait until you see the beautiful things we can do together."

Elsa screeched. "Get off of me!"

The man hissed under his breath. "Sleep, you rat."

Elsa collapsed into the snow. Her eyes were forced shut. She felt the deep spell of slumber consume her body. Behind her eyelids, she saw her sister coming to find her. She was knocked over by the blizzard that Elsa had caused. Anna struggled to get up but couldn't. There she lay, the blizzard ripping the breath from her lungs in every second.

She heard a boy's soft voice as she thrashed against something constraining her. "Elsa, it's okay. I'm here. You're safe. Open your eyes."

Her eyes quickly fluttered opened. She was wrapped tightly by Jack on the castle floor. Fear struck her face as she started to search for her sister. She calmed down once she realized that Anna was fine. It was just a nightmare playing tricks on her.

"I came as soon as I heard you screaming. What happened?"

Elsa told him all about the stranger. She explained how insensitive and frightening was. She told him about the horrible nightmare-ish slumber that he had sent her into.

Jack stared at her with wide eyes and a troubled frown. "This can't be possible…" he muttered. "I haven't seen him in years. He's supposed to be dead. No one believes in him anymore!"

"You know who he is?" she said abruptly.

"Pitch Black," Jack said sighing.


End file.
